Radiant heating system and method of control

ABSTRACT

A radiant heating system including at least two heating legs, each leg including at least one burner firing into a radiant tube and at least one damper for controlling the thermal output of the heating leg; each radiant tube communicating hot exhaust gases along its length and interconnected with connector tubes. The radiant tubes in communication with at least one exhaust blower for urging exhaust gases along the length of each radiant tube and communicating exhaust gases to the atmosphere. There is at least one controller in communication with at least one temperature measuring device and in communication with the at Least one damper for controlling the position of the damper thereby controlling the firing rate of the burner.

The application claims priority from previously filed U.S. provisionalpatent application No. 60/822,101, titled “RADIANT HEATING SYSTEM ANDMETHOD OF CONTROL” on Aug. 11, 2006 by Eric Willms.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to radiant heating systems and inparticular relates to multi-burner radiant heating systems and theirmethod of control.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,302 by Ronald G. Corey titled Heating Method Meansand Control issued on Dec. 24, 1963 describes a burner control systemwhich potentially is relevant for multi-burner radiant heating systemsand their control.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,331 titled Control in Combination withThermostatically Responsive Assembly by Timothy P. Seel, Patented on May18, 1993 describes a multi-burner radiant heating system and method ofcontrol.

None of the abovementioned patents and/or currently commerciallyavailable technologies addresses the technological issues raised andsolved by the currently described apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The radiant heating system and method of control will now be describedby way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a radiant heating system and method ofcontrol deployed inside a building.

FIG. 2 is a partial cut away schematic of the radiant heating system andmethod of control shown deployed in a building.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective top view of some of the heating systemshown components shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is atop perspective schematic view of a damper control shown inthe open position.

FIG. 5 is a top schematic perspective schematic view of a damper controlshown in the closed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A radiant heating system and method of control is shown generally as 100in FIGS. 1 and 2 and includes the following major components. Burners102 in communication with radiant tubes 104, which are connectedtogether with connector tubes 106 and which communicate with an exhaustblower 108 having a blower regulator 110 and an exhaust pipe 112.

Radiant heating system and method of control 100 further includes acontroller 114 in communication with temperature measuring devicesnormally thermostats 116 located on the inner building walls 118.Controller 114 is also in communication with leg dampers 120 as well asthe main damper 122.

The system schematically depicted in FIG. 1 includes a number of heatinglegs namely; first leg 130, a second leg 132 and a third leg 134 inwhich a series of burners 102 are connected along a radiant tube 104which are then interconnected with connector tubes 106. In its simplestform heating system 100 includes one heating leg such as first leg 130having at least one burner 102, and one damper 122 in communication withone exhaust blower 108 and controlled by one thermostat 116 incommunication with a controller 114. One heating leg may have multipleburners and multiple dampers situated between each burner such that thefiring rate of each individual burner on a heating leg may be controlledwith a damper. The blower may be an exhaust blower which imparts avacuum ie. negative pressure to the system as shown in the Figures ormay impart a positive pressure to the system ie. pushing the exhaustgases through the radiant tubes. There may in fact be multiple blowers.The blowers may be integrally part of each burner as known in the art.

It would be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the presentlydescribed radiant heating system and method of control 100 can have anynumber of legs, and any number of dampers, however for explanationpurposes and by way of example only, we depict schematically a systemhaving three legs having a number of burners 102 connected in seriesalong a radiant tube 104. Note that one damper may be used to control 2or more legs.

FIGS. 1 and 2 also depict radiant heating system and method of control100 having four thermostats, located on the inner side of each buildingwall 118. A person skilled in the art will be aware that this radiantheating system and method of control 100 could work with a singlethermostat or any number of thermostats as required by the size andshape of the building or other design factors. FIGS. 1 and 2 also showthe radiant heating system and method of control having 3 leg dampersand one main damper. A person skilled in the art will note that it ispossible to operate the system with only one damper, however for greatercontrol and flexibility, multiple dampers as depicted in the example maybe installed.

The schematic representations in FIGS. 1 and 2 do not show theconnections of air and/or gas to the burners 102. A person skilled inthe art will note that burners 102 must have access to combustion air aswell as a fuel such as natural gas and/or propane which is not shownand/or depicted in the drawings. Furthermore, the schematic drawingsFIG. 1 and 2 do not show regulators and/or combustion chambers, butrather depicts schematically the radiant heating system and method ofcontrol 100 and the components necessary in order to describe thecontrol of a multi-burner radiant heater system as depicted in theschematic drawings.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective schematic view of a portion of the radiantheating system, namely including burners 102, radiant tubes 104,connector tubes 106. Each radiant tube 104, has a radiant deflector 140.There is depicted a first leg 130, a second leg 132 and third leg 134each having connected in series a number of burners 102 in communicationwith radiant tube 104 and leg dampers 120 and main damper 122. All ofthe radiant tubes 104 are interconnected with connector tubes 106 whichare in communication with exhaust blower 108 having a blower regulator110 and an exhaust pipe 112.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective schematic view of a typical damper 121having a damper control 170, a damper vane 172, which is housed withinthe radiant tube 104 and is shown in FIG. 4 in the open position 176.Damper 121 may in fact be a leg damper 120 or a main damper 122. Thedesign of damper 121 is such that it can be used as a leg damper 120 ora main damper 122.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a typical damper 121, however inFIG. 5 the damper is shown in the closed position 178.

In operation, burners 102 are lit and are fired so as to produce hot gasemissions into radiant tube 104 which travel along each of the radianttubes 104 and through connector tubes 106 which are communicated toexhaust blower 108, where they are exhausted via exhaust pipe 112 intothe atmosphere. Exhaust blower 108 creates a vacuum within radiant tubes104, thereby drawing combustion air and combustion fuel into burners102, ensuring continuous firing of burners 102 along each radiant tube104 and the communication of the exhaust gases to the atmosphere.Radiant heating system and method of control 100 has a computerized maincontroller or control panel which is denoted as controller 114 which isin communication with the thermostats 116 and the dampers 120 and 122.In the depicted example there are four thermostats and four dampers.Information received from thermostats 116 together with predeterminedcomputer algorithms will control the position of leg dampers 120 andmain damper 122. In this manner, the first leg 130, the second leg 132and the third leg 134 as well as the thermal output of the entire systemcan be controlled by positioning of dampers 120 and/or main damper 122.One is able for example to increase or decrease the thermal output ofany individual leg by repositioning of dampers 120 thereby selectivelyincreasing or decreasing the heating system output in the buildingadjacent or nearby that independent leg.

Information received from thermostat 116 educates the system in regardto the thermal inertia or responsiveness of building 119. Building 119is depicted schematically having building walls 118 but will alsoinclude other common features to buildings such as floors, ceilings, andits contents. Adaptive learning occurs by collecting and analyzinghistorical data in regards to information received from thermostats 116.Controller 114 is able to selectively increase and decrease the entirethermal output of radiant heating system 100 by opening and closing maindamper 22 and/or selectively increasing and/or decreasing individuallegs of radiant heating system 100 depending upon historical thermalcharacteristics and responsiveness of the building. The radiant heatingsystem includes historical logic capability including mathematicalalgorithms generated from historical thermal data. The radiant heatingsystem includes temperature logic capability including mathematicalalgorithms generated from temperature measurements.

In other words, controller 114 has all adaptive learning capability inwhich historical thermal information received from thermostats 116 canbe used to predict tile thermal responsiveness of building 119 andtherefore, adjust the thermal output of the entire radiant heatingsystem 100 or individual legs 130, 132 or 134 as required to ensure thedesired temperature is achieved in every part of the building. Forexample a certain rate of temperature drop of one of the thermostats 116on one of the walls may result in an increase in firing rate of theindividual leg closest to that wall according to a mathematical modelused to predict temperature inertia and fluctuations within thebuilding. The system may for example be able to compensate for aprevailing cold wind impinging on one or more sides of the building. Inthis manner a high degree of temperature uniformity is achieved due tothe ability to control individual heating legs within the buildingrather than increasing or decreasing the entire heating system. Inaddition the use of multiple thermostats provides thermal data which canbe used to predict local and overall temperature fluctuations within thebuilding and thereby control the heating system locally (ie anindividual leg) or globally to minimize these fluctuations.

Exhaust blower 108 has a blower regulator 110 which is used to initiallyoptimize the speed of exhaust blower 108 to an optimum value. Inpractice an optimum value often is the lowest speed possible for theexhaust blower to produce the heat output required by the entireinstallation. It is often preferable to have exhaust blower run at theslowest possible speed in order to reduce noise and vibration of theentire system. The higher the speed of exhaust blower, the greater thenoise and vibration generated by the radiant heating system 100 andtherefore blower regulator 110 is used in order to fix an optimum blowerspeed which is maintained at a constant value.

Once the optimum exhaust blower speed 108 is determined, control of theheating within building 119 is carried out by main controller 114communicating with thermostats 116 and in turn using the thermalinformation from the thermostats to vary dampers 120 and 122.

A person skilled in the art will note that this system may eliminate theneed for a separate indoor and outdoor temperature sensing means, butrather through use of a single or multiple internal thermostats andadaptive learning techniques known in the art one is able to determinethe thermal responsiveness of the building and future thermalrequirements of the building on an ongoing basis. The radiant heatingsystem controller includes temperature logic for controlling the dampersfor optimizing burner firing rate depending upon rate of change oftemperature measured by the temperature measuring device ie thethermostats. The radiant heating system controller also includeshistorical logic capability for controlling the dampers for optimizingburner firing rate depending upon historical thermal responsiveness ofthe environment namely the building being heated.

A person skilled in the art will also note that modulation of each legof the system by the individual dampers 120 and 122 can be accomplishedwith strategically placed thermostats thereby independently varying thethermal output of each leg of the system. For example a thermostatmounted near a heating leg is best used to control that heating leg. Theheating leg may take on any shape (as viewed from above as in FIG. 1)including linear as depicted or square or circular depending upon thearea one wishes to control. In operation individually controlled burnerlegs will result in improved comfort control, especially in a buildingwith a wide variety of uses throughout the overall space. It will alsoresult in improved heating and operating efficiencies. This will becomeparticularly advantageous in a building which for example has a portiondesignated to storage and warehouse space and a portion designated tohuman work space. In the area where persons are normally located, thetemperature profile may be substantially different than in an area wherethere is mainly goods warehousing and storage.

A person skilled in the art will note that there are many advantages tothe present system including operating and thermal efficiencies,improved reliability and predictability, and as well decreased fuel andenergy consumption.

1. A radiant heating system comprising: a) at least one heating legincluding at least one burner firing into a radiant tube; b) the radianttube communicating hot exhaust gases along its length and in fluidcommunication with at least one damper for controlling the flow ofexhaust gases along the radiant tube; c) the radiant tube incommunication with at least one blower for urging exhaust gases alongthe length of the radiant tube and eventually communicating exhaustgases to the atmosphere, and d) a controller in communication with atemperature measuring device and the dampers for controlling theposition of the damper and thereby controlling the thermal output of theburner.
 2. The radiant heating system claimed in claim 1 furtherincluding at least two burners.
 3. The radiant heating system claimed inclaim 2 further including at least one damper for each burner.
 4. Theradiant heating system claimed in claim 2 further including at least oneblower for each burner.
 5. A radiant heating system comprising: a) atleast two heating legs, each leg including at least one burner firinginto a radiant tube; b) each radiant tube communicating hot exhaustgases along its length and interconnected with connector tubes and influid communication with at least one damper for controlling the flow ofexhaust gases; c) the radiant tubes in communication with at least oneblower for urging exhaust gases along the length of each radiant tubeand communicating exhaust gases to the atmosphere, and d) at least onecontroller in communication with at least one temperature measuringdevice and in communication with the at least one damper for controllingthe position of the damper thereby controlling the firing rate of theburner.
 6. The radiant heating system claimed in claim 5 wherein the atleast one blower including a single exhaust blower imparting a negativepressure along the length of the radiant tubes.
 7. The radiant heatingsystem claimed in claim 5 wherein each heating leg including at leastone damper for controlling the flow of exhaust gases along that heatingleg.
 8. The radiant heating system claimed in claim 2 further includingat least one temperature measuring device for each heating leg.
 9. Theradiant heating system claimed in claim 7 further including at least onetemperature measuring device for each damper such that the controllercapable of controlling the thermal output of each leg separately. 10.The radiant heating system claimed in claim 5 wherein the controllerincluding temperature logic means for controlling dampers for optimizingburner firing rate depending upon rate of change of temperature measuredby the temperature measuring device.
 11. The radiant heating systemclaimed in claim 5 wherein the controller including adaptive historicallogic means for controlling dampers for optimizing burner firing ratedepending upon historical thermal responsiveness of the environmentbeing heated.
 12. The radiant heating system claimed in claim 11 whereinthe adaptive historical logic means including mathematical algorithmsgenerated from historical thermal data.
 13. The radiant heating systemclaimed in claim 10 wherein the temperature logic means includingmathematical algorithms generated from temperature measurements.
 14. Theradiant heating system claimed in claim 9 wherein each temperaturemeasuring device mounted proximate a corresponding heating leg such thatthe temperature measuring device being effected by the correspondingheating leg.
 15. A radiant heating system comprising: a) at least twoheating legs, each leg including at least one burner firing into aradiant tube and at least one damper for controlling the thermal outputof the heating leg; b) each radiant tube communicating hot exhaust gasesalong its length and interconnected with connector tubes; c) the radianttubes in communication with at least one exhaust blower for urgingexhaust gases along the length of each radiant tube and communicatingexhaust gases to the atmosphere, and d) at least one controller incommunication with at least one temperature measuring device and incommunication with the at least one damper for controlling the positionof the damper thereby controlling the firing rate of the burner.
 16. Theradiant heating system claimed in claim 15 wherein the heating systemincluding at least one temperature measuring device for each damperthereby the controller being able to control independently the thermaloutput of each heating leg.
 17. The radiant heating system claimed inclaim 15 wherein the temperature measuring devices being thermostats.